Comment from Wes Rand
Time February 22, 2009 at 12:30 pm

Interesting. I had never heard of that before. Is that something that is/was common in the south?

And I wonder — is Hannity up in arms about the Post’s cartoon?

Comment from Martijn
Time February 22, 2009 at 12:32 pm

Daryl, nonsense! People looking beyond face value and intent are interesting to look into. Between political correctness and self-serving petty interests a ridiculous amount of messages get hailed as racist, xenophobic, … you name it. You did not make nor intended to make a racial distinction. You just wanted to give voice to the sense that you felt that Powell was better suited for the job than Rice. And you did not think twice about either one’s race, I bet you…. ’cause I suspect you’re that kinda guy: you judge people on their merit, regardless of race, sexual preference etc. And if we all did that, that would put the most expeditious end to racism possible!

Comment from CPB
Time February 22, 2009 at 12:33 pm

I never thought this drawing is racist. Is this really acceptable as a racist cartoon by the society? I don’t think so.

Comment from Susan
Time February 22, 2009 at 12:35 pm

I think your cartoon is mildly funny and it is a stretch to see it as racist. If Hannity was showcasing it, I think the source of the racist parody is confirmed as a fool. I do not think the shooting of the chimp cartoon to be remotely funny whether you look at it as the death of a beloved pet who savagely attacked a friend or if you look at it as saying Obama’s stimulus was so limited that a primate wrote it. It simply was not funny on any level.

Comment from rockus
Time February 22, 2009 at 12:36 pm

I nor my wife ever heard of that before. Time for the google search I guess.

Comment from Von Glitschka
Time February 22, 2009 at 12:40 pm

Draw an ugly white person no problem. Apply the same level of artistic license to a minority figure and you get labeled as racist. Your cartoon is on par with everything else you do so if someone reads into this image racism than it’s their own brand of prejudice because your art looks fine.

Really like your line work BTW. Reminds me of MAD magazine from my youth.

Comment from Jay Fosgitt
Time February 22, 2009 at 12:54 pm

I spent several years as an editorial cartoonist for several college papers, and the truest dictum I heard was, if you’re not pissing someone off then you’re not doing your job. Me, I think this cartoon is brilliant. Plus I dig her Lucy Van Pelt hairdo.

Comment from ms shai
Time February 22, 2009 at 12:55 pm

hmm, this doesn’t strike me as racist. even when i look it up. but oh well,
I dont think that cartoonists should be exempt from criticisms of racism but I also don’t think they should all be fired for producing innapropriate things. Even in history class in highschool i was always blown away by how obnoxious the political cartoons featured were and things like this are in that tradition. Pointing out that something can be interpreted as racist or is racist is acceptable and to be expected, but actually taking administrative action? hmm, maybe im a benefactor of the progress made before my time but i dont really see that as all that necessary all the time

Comment from Ms. Mel
Time February 22, 2009 at 12:59 pm

What “Loose Shoes”? …I have never heard that one in my life …and how the heck can it be bigoted if Dr. Rice was following Gen. Powell in the position…wow -

Comment from Tracey
Time February 22, 2009 at 1:07 pm

TBH, I think there\\\’s a difference between this and the chimp cartoon. The chimp reference is essentially widely known as a racist kind of reference (there\\\’s a reason blacks aren\\\’t drawn how they used to be drawn, after all). Yours I don\\\’t think I\\\’ve ever even heard of, and from the comments, I\\\’m not alone.

Comment from jane
Time February 22, 2009 at 3:16 pm

I’ve never heard of “loose shoes” before. Taking this cartoon for what it looks like, it appears as though you’re saying she’s got big shoes to fill. Period.

Comment from Ken
Time February 22, 2009 at 4:17 pm

Loose shoes is an obscure reference to be sure and I absolutely think it’s a stretch to say your cartoon is racist. However, there is nothing obscure about comparing a black person to a chimp. Add in the violence of and I think the cartoon is categorically racist. The two are incomparable.

Comment from Michelle
Time February 22, 2009 at 9:02 pm

I responded on Twitter but I\’m sure that gets lost quickly.

I can\’t imagine that we now live (or even have lived) in a society where we first must think before we speak and then \"Google\" it before we actually say it (write it/draw it) just to make sure that there isn\’t someone out there who might be offended. The \"loose shoes\" reference is very obscure to say the least and if it had been ANYONE other than Rice taking office (or you were black yourself) then it would have been just another witty political cartoon received as intended.

Being a southerner (born & raised in Alabama) and having never heard that reference before now I can\’t imagine how far they peddled backwards to get that \"racist\" reference out of your cartoon. I mean we did make it past 2000 recently… right?!?

Comment from Wm. Blight
Time February 22, 2009 at 10:24 pm

Hardly racist. It does bring up, yet again, more comments on how caricaturists are having trouble drawing blacks without getting that tag. Like John K. said, \"Sometimes an observation can be just that: an observation.\"

Comment from Mike
Time February 23, 2009 at 2:19 pm

I’ve never heard of “loose shoes”…and I’m black!

Comment from Greg C
Time February 23, 2009 at 4:57 pm

Daryl: This is what I wrote on Alan Colmes FB wall last night RE: the chimp cartoon…

Alan: I have got to tell you that I believe that the abuse of political correctness has been ratcheted up another notch since Obama has been elected. Making matters worse is the fact that if there is even a hint that anything said, written and now drawn is related to Obama, then out comes the race card. I find it a convenient excuse to suppress … Read Morefirst amendment rights to free speech and as a means of making mountains out of molehills or creating something out of nothing. What a fantastic time in history that we have elected an African American President only to find that somehow all \"communications\" must be filtered and interpreted by the likes of Al Sharpton and other politically motivated grand standers. This does nothing but perpetuate the mostly exaggerated racial tensions in America and sadly, it is all by design. Maybe I am a little slow, but the \"alleged\" (Sharpton alert) intent of the cartoon was completely lost on me. It was perfect & timely satire, nothing more!

Comment from Crystal
Time February 24, 2009 at 12:40 pm

Interesting Hannity was upset about this but not the Posts cartoon(he said everyone was over reacting)- Ahhh yes Condi is one of his a “rethug”

Comment from firstdog
Time February 24, 2009 at 1:13 pm

Isn’t that what editors are for? “Hey Daryl, did you know about the loose shoes thing?” Oh well.

People can perceive it as racist if they want, you can’t control that. Once it is published it is up to the audience. However the cartoonist’s intent needs to be given consideration (except on FOX). Anyway, you just have to do the work you think is right, and if you make a mistake so be it and take it on the chin. And this cartoon is not like the chimp cartoon. No one should be surprised the chimp cartoon was offensive, have you seen the other stuff that guy does?

The notion of political correctness is a furphy, this is simply a discussion about the degree to which people are seeking to avoid being racist in public forums. I wish we were as sensitive to it in Australia as you are in the U.S. It is a great discussion to be having, some will err on the side of caution and others will not. The discussion is the important thing.

Comment from Beverly
Time February 25, 2009 at 9:06 am

Trouble is, so many people don\\\\\\\’t have context. This Rice cartoon works on lots of levels, but particularly well given the jobs she had, the decisions she made, and her raging case of Bush Blindness. It\\\\\\\’s about her, not about race. Then again, I had trouble with the New Yorker Cover that portrayed the Obamas in terrorist drag, fist bumping as though they were yay close to winning and fooling people who thought they were mainstream. Were I a cartoonist, I\\\\\\\’d have thought long and hard about that one, and the irony deficient population. Especially for the cover. The dead chimp linked to stimulus package is just plain dumb and not funny. And I did think that one was particularly racist. I suppose the good aftermath in our support of free speech is that we don\\\\\\\’t take to the streets and kill a whole lot of people protesting what a cartoonist has done.

Comment from Ralph Hanson
Time February 27, 2009 at 9:53 pm

“Loose shoes” was made famous by Nixon Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz who used it as part of an unambiguously racist comment. Slate’s Timothy Noah recounts the story (http://www.slate.com/id/2183658/):

“The 1976 joke was made in the presence of Pat Boone, Sonny Bono (no longer with Cher, but not yet a member of Congress), and John Dean. The four men were traveling first class on a commercial flight to California after the Republican National Convention. The ever-earnest Boone asked Butz why Republicans were unable to attract more blacks to their party. Rather than explain that Nixon’s “southern strategy” deliberately drew disaffected white voters away from the Democratic party with coded racist messages likely to offend blacks, Butz decided to lighten the mood with an extremely racist (not to mention very old) joke. “The only thing the coloreds are looking for in life,” Butz quipped, “are tight pussy, loose shoes, and a warm place to shit.”

That’s at least part of why people are sensitive about the comment.

Comment from PRIMALDATA
Time February 28, 2009 at 4:08 pm

Looking at your Rice cartoon, and understanding the context of you saying you drew it after she took over for colon powell I understand it, and agree with it(plus the fact that she was National Security advisor during 9/11 never made me too confident in her abilities for her to get a promotion). Then it was hannity, if hannity is accusing you of being racist, basically that lets you know your not. The only time I will give Fox news a pass on the “calling somebody a racist just to make them defend themselves in the kangaroo court for blatantly not being a racist” is when they called Ralph Nader out for using the term Uncle Tom towards Obama. Nader being bitter that the non main stream pick for once was actually gonna be a democrat instead of him was sour grapes and nothing wrong with obama. But as they say even a blind, stupid and retarded dog gets hit by sunshine once.

As for the chimp cartoon do I have to go into the million and a half racist epithets that in some way shape or form reference or include some sort of primate.

Now seeing the origination of hannities claim that your cartoon was racist ummm I’m black never heard of it and I don’t know who butz got it from but I think I can safely say unless gay all men are looking for tight pussy, since I have big feet it’s not loose shoes I’m looking for but shoes in my size, and a warm place to shit? Lemme guess Butz was the igloo shitting king of north america.

You know sometimes I prefer for people to let racists open their mouths so you can see just how stupid they really are. Then again I’m just a black guy so what would I know? I mean people I guess miss the point while I can forgive something that is FUNNY even if it slightly digs at race if it’s racist, low brow, stupid and not even remotely funny exactly why should I give it a pass. I’m sorry if people are used to the 1950’s depictions of black people and think that we should be more trustworthy when somebody makes a tongue in cheek drawing, but I will remind folks that when you’ve been pissed on for a long period of time your not gonna waste your time looking for the garden hose first before you tell somebody don’t piss on you.

Comment from Harry
Time March 1, 2009 at 8:06 pm

Interesting set of phrases. I\\\\\\\’m not a big Hillary fan, but I think the shoes Condi left behind have been pinching Hillary since January 20th.

I am looking for a cartoon published last summer/fall of a playground swing with two black children swinging. One, a young boy, says that now it is possible than anyone can be elected president in the United States. The other, a young girl, says, well, not everybody yet. I believe it was after the Democratic Convention. Can anyone direct me to it? I\\\\\\\’d like to use it in my diversity classes when I talk about the significance of the Obama election.